Doddinghurst Church of England Junior School

About Doddinghurst Church of England Junior School

Doddinghurst Church of England Junior School is a state primary for pupils aged 7 to 11, located in the Brentwood area of Essex. Within the local authority, it sits 13th out of 18 primary schools in Brentwood specifically, placing it in the bottom half of its immediate borough peers. Across the wider Essex local authority, which includes 444 primary schools, it ranks 224th. The top-performing schools in the same LA include Stambridge Primary School, St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School in Colchester, and Great Totham Primary School, all of which score significantly higher on the ranking metric. The nearest school rated Outstanding by Ofsted is Shenfield St. Mary's Church of England Primary School, about 4.2 km away. Doddinghurst itself holds a Good rating from its most recent inspection in October 2023, a notable improvement from its previous Requires Improvement grade in 2018.

Academically, the school's Key Stage 2 results for the 2023/24 year show a mixed picture. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined was 60%, which sits just below the Essex local authority average of 62%. In individual subjects, reading was a relative strength, with 84% reaching the expected standard and 40% achieving a higher score. Maths saw 73% at expected and 18% at a higher level, while writing lagged behind at 69% expected and just 4% at the higher standard. The average scaled scores were 107 for reading and 104 for maths. Nationally, the school ranks in the bottom 50% of primary schools on the combined expected standard metric, at the 57th percentile. Progress scores are not available in the data, so it is not possible to say how much value the school adds compared with pupils' starting points.

The school has a capacity of 240 and currently enrols 220 pupils, so there is some headroom. It serves a Church of England community and has a range of facilities including a sensory room, sports hall, playing fields, music rooms, a library and a chapel. Sports on offer include football, cricket, netball, gymnastics, dance and cross country, while clubs extend to eco club, gardening, drama, science club and coding. The school has a broad SEND offer, with provisions for moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, physical disability, autistic spectrum disorder and other difficulties. With 15.5% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a moderately disadvantaged intake. This is a school that has improved its Ofsted rating and offers solid, if not standout, academic outcomes, with a particular strength in reading and a good range of facilities and support for a junior school setting.

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